Back and There Again, A Strangers' Tale
by Vorpalkitty
Summary: What if there was an orphan, raised by hobbits to be like hobbits. She was everything a hobbit was and everything a hobbit should be. The only problem; She's not a hobbit. Follow the Strangers tale as she returns to her home, only to leave again.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien (except for the characters of my own creation)

Isadora was as close to being a hobbit as a member of the 'big-folk' could get. She had dark hair that fell in loose and messy curls which framed her face; this was not uncommon for the halflings. Though she insisted that it be kept short and simple, ending just at her jaw-line; this was rather odd for any female, for the style at the time was to have long and elegant hair that fell past or at least to the shoulder blades.

Isadora also seldom wore shoes, which was not out of the ordinary for hobbits either. But, once again, Isadora showed her diversity by nearly always wearing men's clothes, which earned her quite a few glares and disapproving looks. Not that she cared. And though her feet were regularly bare, she had no hair covering the pale skin whatsoever.

But despite her obvious quirks, Isadora Riverside wanted to be like normal hobbits, like her family and friends. There was just one problem; Isadora was entirely the wrong species.

. . . . . . . . . . .

She loved to run, simple as that. Isadora's tall and willowy figure made it possible to run faster than most hobbits and her slightly larger feet helped her cover more ground. But today, Isadora was sitting, or more accurately, lying, in the back of an old wizard's cart, atop many hazardous fire-works. But it was highly unlikely that she cared, for she was quite content to stay there, her ankles crossed over one-another as her legs swung from the end of the cart, the brim of her hat falling over her eyes and nose and her arms folded behind her head as a make shift pillow.

"You're late" stated a haughty voice suddenly from their right as they trundled in to the Shire, Isadora and the old wizard knew the voice all too well.

"A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to" the ancient man said as he pulled the cart to a halt and turned to face the hobbit.

"What about that time you arrived five minutes late to my birthday party?" questioned Isadora, still sitting, or laying, in the back of the wooden cart with a slight smirk twitching at the edge of her mouth, which was the only thing visible due to her hat. "I believe you even stated so when you came over to apologise for it." There was a short silence that followed.

"No, I don't trust that I ever did such a thing. You must be going mad my dear" the wizard stated stubbornly. The girl turned briefly on her stomach to stick her tongue out childishly at the aging man.

The silence one again returned until the hobbit snorted in poorly concealed laughter, which, therefore, caused the other two in the cart to laugh as well.

"Its' wonderful to see you Gandalf!" cried Frodo as he leapt from the bank he was standing on and on to the carriage to give the wizard, under the name of Gandalf, a hug.

"You don't think I would miss your uncle Bilbo's birthday" said the wizard after the two had finished greeting each-other. They heard an indignant huff and both turned to see Isadora who was now sitting up on her knees, with her arms crossed.

"Oh yes, ignore the amazing and witty friend who you haven't seen in two years." Frodo laughed and climbed in to the back of the cart to give the much taller girl a hug as well, he ruffled her hair playfully as he pulled away, making her cry out in displeasure and reaching up quickly to smooth down the hair that was now standing on end thanks to the annoying hobbit.

"It's been four, my crazy friend" he told her with a smile as they both sat back against the cart as it started moving again.

"Has it really?" inquired Isadora with a shocked tone "Well, I guess learning minor enchantments and how to fire a bow makes the time just fly by" They could hear the elderly wizards' chuckle from the front seat as they drove onwards.

"And yet, you still cannot do either" he laughed, which was then accompanied by Frodo's chuckles. Isadora shrugged good-naturedly and got comfortable once more, pulling her hat over her eyes as the hobbit climbed back up to sit at Gandalf's side.

The horses plodding, the general chatter of Frodo and Gandalf and her own breathing were the only sounds that Isadora let reach her ears as the cart rumbled in to the village. The children from some of the houses on one of the lanes that they were going down, ran out in hopes of seeing some of Gandalf's fireworks. The mother and father came out of one of the hobbit-holes and glared at Gandalf, for he was apparently a 'disturber of the peace'. The thought made Isadora chuckle as she waved happily to the couple, who smiled happily back, glad to see her again after such a long time. The happy smiles were quickly replaced with the disapproving look, still directed at Gandalf.

Three fire-works dislodged them-selves from the large pile on which Isadora was sitting on and then exploded, pleasing the small children, and making Isadora unstable upon the explosive fire-works.

A thud of a person hitting the hard ground and the indignant shriek of; "Gandalf!" could be heard as the cart went around the corner and away from the cheering children and the couple, of which the mother still look disapproving of Gandalf and the father was smiling at the fire-works.

. . . . . . . . . . .

As the cart tumbled over the hill, Isadora shot up and leaned over the back of the front seat to catch her first glimpse of her beloved home in four years. Then she saw it and the girl felt tears burning behind her eyes, after four long years of constant lessons in some of the most beautiful elven cities and the most ancient wizards' towers, Isadora finally felt at home again, in the Shire. Her Shire.

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**A/N: HELLO! New story, I know. This one, though, has no specific update time. Just a warning.**

**For the past few months i have been wanting to write a Lord of The Rings fanfiction, and finally i have finished the first chapter! YAY!**

**Thank you for giving this story a chance. Please review I'd love to know what you guys think! V-K! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien (except for the characters of my own creation)

Isadora was leaning against the wooden fire-works cart outside of Bag-end as Gandalf visited the elder Baggins, who was commonly known as Bilbo. The old wizard thought it would be best if she stayed by the cart to make sure no-one tried to take anything (two young hobbits sprung to her mind when he had told her this).

Isadora looked on at the plentiful and colourful flowers that were blooming in the front garden of Bag-end, and a small grin passed her lips as she read the sign on the gate. 'No Admittance' it read 'Except on Part Business' Hobbits were mainly nice folk but too many could have been a hassle at times, she reasoned. The girl stood there and analysed how the dew-drops sat and reflected on the flowers and grass for a good five minutes before she reached in to her faded-leather satchel and withdrew a note pad and charcoal, there she began to sketch the intricate lines that soon came to look somewhat like Bag-end.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Gandalf eventually emerged from the hobbit-hole and Isadora was forced to stop her sketching and follow the aging wizard to an inn. Local or not Isadora didn't really pay any attention, her mind pouring with thoughts on Bilbo's upcoming birthday party and her work and research she had to complete if she wanted to remain in her teachings .

Needless to say, with all these thoughts running around freely in her head, Isadora tripped upon her entry to the quaint inn.

Rain splattered the windows of the same inn that night, along with all the other houses and buildings on the dim street; one could hear the carts being pulled away and the continuous creaking of the inns' hanging sign. The paint was peeling and the wood was aging, but you could still make out the words 'The Prancing Pony' decorating the sign as it hung,

. . . . . . . . . . .

For the next few days Isadora Riverside could normally be found hiding away in her room at the inn researching ancient articles, analysing old texts and just generally working, locked away and oblivious to the rest of the world. That is why her reply to Gandalf telling her to get ready for the evenings party was-

"Huh?" very intelligent.

Gandalf sighed at the child, she reminded him of his own younger self, constantly trying to get better at anything and everything,

"Bilbo's birthday party, Isadora" he offered in hopes of reminding the forgetful girl, a look of understanding passed over her face, then it quickly changed to that of shock and horror.

"That's today?" she inquired "Oh no, I haven't even spoken to anyone yet, what will they think when I turn up to Bilbo's arty without having visited anyone at all?" Gandalf placed a relaxing hand on her shoulder and smiled calmly at her.

"I am sure that after you have explained that you were caught up in your studies, they will not mind at all. Most of them will be over-joyed to see you for the first time in four years" The girl nodded reluctantly and grabbed some clothes to wear to the party after Gandalf had exited her room, and proceeded to get ready for Bilbo's eleventy-first birthday party.

. . . . . . . . . . .

When Isadora finally arrived at the party, she was unsurprised to see so many hobbits. But there were hardly any 'big-folk' and it made Isadora feel like she stood out like a sore thumb.

Everyone had dressed in a simple-formal kind of fashion. Isadora, on the other hand, had grown out of all her formal 'Shire-clothes' and was left with only her elven dresses and since Isadora would never wear her casual clothes to such an old friends birthday-party.

And so, since Gandalf had to leave early to sort out his fire-works, Isadora was left to walk to the party and arrive to the party on her own, wearing her simplest, yet elegant, elven dress – which was more akin to a chiton, than to one of her long-sleeved, extremely elegant, full-blown elven gowns.

As Isadora arrived at the party, she let her loose, yet still short, hair fall across her face, hoping in vain that no one would notice her, even though there were very few hobbits on that side of the gate that lead in to Bilbo's party.

"Isadora Lilium Riverside" stated a normally joyful voice, though in a mockingly serious tone "It has been an age and a half since I have last seen you!" As Isadora looked up from her bare-feet, she met the bright eyes of one Mr Bilbo Baggins and smiled, then kneeled down to give the considerably shorter hobbit a hug. "Oh, and what a lovely dress too. Look how you've grown!" Isadora laughed a she stood.

"The dress may look lovely but I feel like a carrot in a cabbage patch"

"Nonsense" replied Bilbo, waving his hand at the statement "You look adorable. I will see you later, my dear; I want to hear what the elves have been up to"

Isadora bid him farewell and, albeit awkwardly joined the party. Bilbo sighed sadly as he watched the girl he had practically raised join the party, wishing he had more time to say good-bye to all those he hadn't seen in years. But he couldn't, he'd have to just settle with seeing them for as long as possible. And with that thought, Bilbo went back to greeting the next new guests.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien (except for the characters of my own creation)

Isadora didn't dance. She couldn't and wouldn't, and there were very few people who could make her do so willingly. Gandalf, Frodo and Bilbo being just a few of them, unluckily for her, they had been insisting she join the group dances for most of the evening, and there were only very few times a woman could say 'no'.

This would explain, somewhat, as to why she was currently hiding away from the exciting party and was sitting in the front of the cart that held all of the fire-works Gandalf had brought with them to the Shire. Isadora grinned as she handed the old wizard some fire-works for the hobbit children. The old man laughed happily as he left to entertain the little ones.

The girl chuckled as she watched him exit; it was just amusing to see Gandalf, the ever-serious, no foolishness wizard, laughing and messing around at his old friends' party. As Isadora prepared her-self to return to the cart, Frodo ran over and nearly dragged her into the group dance that had started.

"Dance with us Izza!" he laughed, 'Izza' laughed along with him.

"Just one, last one, matey" she chuckled as Frodo pulled her into a random dance. Isadora was unsure if she could remember the simple and comfortingly familiar dance before the young hobbit pulled her in to the centre of one, and the memories of the jumping and clapping dance moves returned to her and, though she towered over all of her partners, she laughed and greeted the friends she met during her six-teen years growing up in the Shire, as would any other hobbit.

When the dance ended, Isadora thanked all those who she had danced with and decided to flee back to the fire-works cart when she spotted Frodo beginning to approach her through the weaving crowds for yet another dance.

. . . . . . . . . . .

There were voices coming from the adjacent tent to the cart when Isadora returned to it. Her slightly pointed ears twitched when she heard the voices; they weren't trying to be quiet, probably assuming there was no one around to hear them. Then she heard the sound of a fuse lighting, and she pushed through the tent flaps to see two young hobbits holding a large fire-work that was the same size, if not bigger, than both of them.

"Done!" stated the shorter hobbit, straightening up after lighting the fuse. The both had not noticed Isadora standing by the entrance.

"You're supposed to stick it in the ground!" hissed the taller one, pushing the fire-work to the smaller hobbit.

"It is in the ground!" he stated stubbornly as she pushed it back.

"_Outside_" the taller hobbit pushed it back again, to be honest they were acting rather like children. The smaller one panicked as she shoved it towards the taller one yet again.

"This was your idea!"

And with that, approximately half-way between where the smaller hobbit had pushed the fire-work and the taller one prepared to catch it; the fire-work zoomed off. Taking the tent with it.

Isadora dashed back to the cart to see which fire-work they took as the other hobbits cheered at the sight of the zooming fire-work. She was impressed with their choice in explosives and was about to go and get them sent over to Gandalf to be scolded for such reckless behaviour. But she stopped when she heard the hobbits gasping and one woman screamed, Isadora rushed away from the cart and ended up standing in front of the ex-tent, and then she saw what everyone was yelling about.

The fire-work dragon whizzed down, dangerously low and it didn't appear to be planning to rise over the tents any time soon. As you may have heard, Isadora wasn't particularly good at magic of any kind, but there was only on way the fire-work dragon could be re-directed and Gandalf was a little preoccupied with the terrified children. So Isadora focused;

Would air enchantments work? Highly unlikely.

Would water work? The dragon was moving too fast, an impossible target, so no.

Would fire spells work? . . . Worth a shot.

. . . . . . . . . .

The two hobbits who had set off the dragon fire-work had known Isadora practically since she had been found on the riverbanks of the Brandywine river y Bilbo one evening. They'd seen her at her best, her worst and even angered (usually directed towards them), but, like most of the Shire, they had never seen or known she could perform magic, even if it was poorly. That is why, when they saw their freakishly-tall child-hood friend hold out their hands and sweep them in an upward motion and re-direct the exploding dragon, they gaped. No one else saw her do it. Except Gandalf, of course.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Isadora stood dumbfounded for a moment. She had done _magic_. Performed it, and nothing exploded. Well, none that she had influence over, but the point still remained. She had performed magic and it worked!

"Yes!" she let out a celebratory laughed as she giddily jumped up and down.

"Izza? Is that you?" asked one of the hobbits. Isadora turned to face them, still grinning from her earlier performance.

"Probably" was her vague answer. The other hobbit was about to add something to the growing conversation, but stopped due to his cry of brief pain as Gandalf appeared and grabbed his and the first hobbits ears. They raised their soot covered faces to meet the wizards disapproving glare.

"Meriadoc Brandybuck" he stated " and Peregrin Took, I might have known"

"Face it Gandalf" Isadora put in suddenly "You knew it was them even before the least explosion" Gandalf lifted his head to chuckle at her statement, but it was quickly over and he returned to administering the young hobbits punishments.

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**A/N: I am in a generous mood today, and the reviews also helped a lot with that so thanks to DORK DOG and the Anonymous Reviewer! XD**

**V-K! XD**

**Ps. Please review I'd love to know your thoughts on the start of the story. **


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien (except for the characters of my own creation)

Bilbo's speech was . . . interesting. The eleventy-one year old spent the best part of it thanking everyone for coming, naming said peoples' families and briefly insulting them. The rest of the speech, he spent saying good-bye and disappearing completely.

Altogether it was rather odd.

As every single hobbit present at the large party began to talk, Isadora looked around, confused, until she caught sight of Gandalf moving around the crowds in the direction of Bag-end. Isadora rushed past all the hobbits and managed to catch up to him.

"Where are you going?" she asked, making Gandalf stop and turn to her.

"I am going to Bag-end, Isadora. You best stay here, I'll be back soon, there's no need to worry" and with that said, the old wizard left for the large hobbit hole, abandoning Isadora to the mercy of the crowds. After about five minutes, she pushed her way over to Meriadoc and Peregrin, standing by the make-shift counter that held up many plates.

"What in middle-earth is going on here?" she asked as she propped her-self upon the counter top, where the plates had been moved. "Do you know what's going on?" Meriadoc turned to her, looking just as confused as Isadora did.

"How would we know?" he questioned, the girl shrugged.

"I dunno, generally people would ask the person closest to them what is happening, regardless of how likely it is to how much they would know on the subject. There's usually no thought behind it"

"Well, none-the-less we still don't know" added Peregrin, as he plodded over to them, obviously tired from having done a bit of washing up. Isadora raised her hands in mock surrender and chuckled lightly, though the chuckle dies in her throat as she, Meriadoc and Peregrin spotted a certain pair of hobbits making their way over to them.

Isadora spun quickly to face the young hobbits, her eyes alight with terror.

"Hide me!" she hissed urgently, Meriadoc and Peregrin nodded and quickly and tried to move the chairs so the much taller girl might fit under the table. But alas, it was all in vain.

"Belladonna?" a shrill voice shrieked "Belladonna Brambleburr, my dear child, is that you?" Isadora winced at her name, she didn't dislike the name, not in the least, it was a very lovely name, it just wasn't hers, the name her unknown parents had given her, one of the last connections she had to them. Isadora was pulled sharply from her ramblings as she spotted the hobbit woman's pace become quicker.

Bramblerose Sandybanks had insisted that, when the child had been found on the banks of the Brandywine, that she be given a '_proper hobbit name_' despite the differences in species. It was quite sweet really. Isadora was just thankful that the basket she had been set to float in had her name on, her last name though was illegible by the time the hobbits found the bay girl, due to the waters of the river. The hobbits had just made up her last name; they all found it rather fitting. 'Riverside'. But Isadora Lilium Riverside was much better for Isadora, in the girls own books, than Belladonna Dimple Brambleburr. Sadly that did not stop Mrs Bramblerose Sandybanks calling her by her _'proper hobbit name'_ whenever the young girl had been sighted.

"Auntie Rosie!" Isadora stated the name that had been insisted upon by Bramblerose, with forced sweetness "Great to see you!"

"Lovely to see you too, darling!" Bramblerose greeted as Isadora kneeled down to hug her "Oh you look stunning too! Doesn't she look stunning Grigory?"

Grigory Sandybanks was a stout hobbit, with a good sense of humour and a quick wit. He was also the husband of Bamblerose, but he normally just laughed at 'Belladonna' when his wife smothered her. He would tease Isadora for the next _year. _

"Yes, you absolutely outstanding _Bella_" he chuckled, Isadora scowled at him as she rose from her hug with her surrogate aunt.

"Thanks Uncle Grig" It was Grigory's turn to scowl and Isadora's to grin.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Sandybanks, how are you this fine evening?" inquired Meriadoc suddenly, giving Isadora an opening to leave, unfortunately her arm was currently in a death-grip.

"Meriadoc-" Bramblerose started.

"Merry" Meriadoc Brandybuck apparently didn't like being called 'Meriadoc' so was known as 'Merry' in its stead. Auntie Rosie ignored him.

"-and Peregrin-"

"Pippin" his best-friend and cousin was much the same.

"-It's lovely to see you both, I am perfectly fine, thank you. Anyway, Belladonna, dear, you must meet-" Bramblerose began to drag 'Bella' away, and Isadora began to plan her own quickly approaching funeral. Grigory still watched on, amused.

"Ah, no!" piped up Pippin without much thought "She-um-er-"

"She set off the fire-work with us!" threw in Merry, rushing to her aid "she has to help with the dishes!" Auntie Rosie threw Isadora an annoyed look and berated her on 'her behaviour around explosives' then proceeded to leave. Isadora turned to Merry and Pippin and let out a cheer as the two hobbits laughed at her relieved look.

"Thank you!" she cried, sweeping both hobbits in to tight hugs "You saved my _life_! How can I repay you? I mean, pretending I had to do the dishes was genius!"

The hobbits shared a smug look.

"Who said we were pretending, Izza?" stated Merry, as Pippin threw a drying cloth at her head. she caught it expertly, the grin on her face quickly dissipating.

"I take it back, you're both evil little monsters and I hate you both"

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**A/N: Hiya Guys! New chapter! XD YAY! Anyway, for the next two weeks I'm gonna be **_**really **_**busy and will not be able to post any new chapters for this or my other fanfiction story. I know this one doesn't have a set update time but I just thought I would warn you so you don't think I have stopped writing this story or anything like that! **

**On the other hand, Please review I would love to know what you guys all thought about this chapter! **

**Thanks for reading!**

**V-K! XD **


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien (except for the characters of my own creation)**

After they had finished washing up all the one hundred and forty-four dished (Isadora would know, she counted), Merry, Pippin ad Isadora sat at the some-what empty table, for most of the guests had gone back to dancing or were standing and conversing in small groups scattered around the area of the party. The former two of the three seated were smoking pipe-weed.

"I feel like I've missed something" stated Isadora after a few minutes of sitting in silence with the two hobbits. "Bilbo disappears and you're all acting as if nothing has happened!"

"Bilbo's known to be a bit . . . eccentric" Merry told her, puffing out some of the pipe-weed smoke.

"So basically he's considered to be a bit crazy." The girl dead-panned. Pippin nodded, confirming her suspicions, and blew some pipe-weed smoke in to her face.

"That's an easier way of putting it" he said

"W-why do y-you guys k-keep smok-king that stuff?" Isadora coughed as she waved the foul substance away from her face.

"Because, dear Izza, it's- it's just- it is- because we do!" Pippin argued, albeit badly. Merry sighed and ran a hand over his face in agitation while Isadora just chuckled lightly at the failed attempt.

"Whatever you say small hobbit" muttered Isadora. Pippin raised his head defiantly and scowled at her.

"I'll have you know that I am quite tall for a hobbit. You, on the other hand are just _too _tall" the girl sighed and laughed

"Oh Pippin you wound me with such harsh words" she mocked, placing a hand over her heart "and, poor naive 'ickle Pip, everyone knows Merry's the tall one, you're the short one" the statement made Merry laugh triumphantly and he turned on Pippin.

"I told you so!" he cackled, prodding his cousin in the arm for emphasis.

Isadora turned her head slightly as she laughed at the cousins' banter and spotted a tall, cloaked figure march out of Bag-end at a quick and some-what urgent pace, their head darting side to side occasionally. The girl's mind came to the conclusion of who it was before she even stood up to chase after them.

"Gandalf!" Isadora called as she ran over to him. He was about to discreetly make his way behind the tents as to not be seen by any of the hobbits. This was odd behaviour, even for the aged wizard.

"Where are you going Gandalf?" she inquired as she caught up to the surprisingly agile old man. Isadora changed her pace to match his one as she panted, trying to catch her breath from the run across the field to meet him. Gandalf turned his head slightly to send her a sad glance as they continued to weave around the tents.

"I am sorry, but we must leave quickly, Isadora." He didn't elaborate any further so Isdora shook off the initial shock of the statement and spoke up.

"Wait, what? We're leaving? Already? But we just got here a few days ago!" Gandalf turned abruptly and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a serious look that made her stop the argument that was forming in her head.

"We _must_ leave, Isadora, whether we wish to or not. The information we need to find is of the utmost importance, the future of Middle-Earth, the Shire, everywhere depend on it. Now we must make haste, hurry now!"

And within the next twenty minutes, Isadora was on the rear of the cart, now bearing no fire-works, watching her lovely Shire disappear behind the hills. A single tear rolled down her porcelain cheek as her and Gandalf travelled back to the inn, to collect their belongings before they set out on a journey that Isadora had no clue as to what is was about or how long they would be gone.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Half-elves.

Isadora slammed the book shut angrily with an irritated growl. She didn't need to know about half-elves, she was one! She already knew their appearance and characteristics; she didn't need a _book_ to tell her!

The research for the Ring was quickly becoming ridiculous and pointless, in Isadora's opinion they should have just gone back to Frodo's house, grabbed the ring, threw in to the fire and saw what happened from there. But Gandalf was still looking for some evidence that proved the Ring couldn't possibly be at the Shire, that the innocent little hobbit wasn't in any immediate danger of death.

With an audible sigh, Gandalf closed the large tome her had been reading in great depth, Isadora looked up from her pacing, which had occurred about half-way through her internal rant, to see the old man stand and grab his cloak hat and staff then hastily leaving the room, expecting the half-elf to follow.

He lead them out of the wizards tower (Isadora did not know, nor did she care to know who the tower was owned by) and back over to the old cart that had carried them away from the Shire multiple years before. But this time, as Gandalf climbed in to the front and grasped the reigns, Isadora did not clamber on to the back of the cart as she normally would have. The half-elf instead strolled over to a dark brown stallion that was reined beside the cart; he had been given to her by the elves a year previously when they had visited one of their greater cities to look for information on the Ring. The foal had not been expected to live much longer beyond six-months, so the elves, not seeing a purpose in keeping it, gave it to Isadora, who it seemed the foal had taken a liking to, in hopes that she would be able to find it a suitable home. Isadora did; she kept him, not willing to part with the horse. His name was Angaráto, but Isadora had given him a hobbit name so she would never forget her own origin. And hence-forth, Angaráto was known as Griffo.

Isadora mounted her stead and began a slow, steady walk along-side Gandalf's cart.

"Right, where are we off to now?" she asked tiredly, expecting to be travelling off to some other wizard tower or elven city, maybe even a dwarf mine or human settlement if she was lucky; humans and dwarves were always fun to talk to, wizards and elves were much more reserved and became a bore after a while.

"The Shire, Isadora" he stated, his voice void of all emotion. Gandalf had no time to react before Griffo shot off, his rider cheering wildly as they went. Gandalf sighed sadly, he highly suspected this war would change many people; Isadora being one of them, and he, along with most likely many other people, did not want her to lose her child-like innocence.

Oh, if only she knew what they were facing.

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**A/N: Cue dramatic ending! Hey! I'm back! XD YAY! No more important and tiring stuff! WHOOOOOOOO! As I suspect many of you can guess, I'm on a sugar rush today! YAY! Which made me type like a mad-man, so I apologise if there are any mistakes and what-not. **

**And my internets being evil and wouldn't let me post this when I wanted to, so sorry about that. :) **

**Please review, I'd love to know your thoughts!**

**V-K! XD! **


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of The Rings it all belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien (except for the characters of my own creation)

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It was night-fall by the time the two finally arrived at the Shire. Isadora, yet again, nearly wept with joy at the sight; Hobbit-holes' windows were darkened, the occasionally one was lit and the new hobbit-holes she spotted, proved that the hobbits of the Shire still had some kind of obsession with circular structured buildings, as the roves of the newer hobbit-holes were still curbed and the windows and doors were still round.

Isadora was absolutely content as she quietly led Griffo down the lane. She was hoping to catch up with Frodo and all of the other hobbit occupants of the quaint hobbit village; she thought Gandalf had given up his search for the Ring of Power and that they were returning indefinitely. It makes one pity the naïve child. True, she was now twenty-two years of age, but as a half-elf she was still considered young and inexperienced.

"Gandalf, hurry! We must see Frodo; I want to see him before we head off to Bree!" Isadora yelled quietly to him as she set off at a quicker pace.

The aged wizard sighed and led his cart to Bag-end, still at the same pace it was before, if not slower.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Isadora was no fool; she was usually able to read people, of any species, easily. Gandalf was no exception to this 'gift' of hers; the half-elf saw his depressed state. To Isadora, her mentor looked much more . . . aged and worn; he had been so since the start of the search for information on the Ring and had continued to do so throughout the whole two years they had travelled from place to place scanning for even the slightest mention of the Ring, even in passing.

Therefore, Isadora noticed the wizards less-than-happy reaction to return to the Shire, and she obviously knew why he was acting like this. There was only one plausible reason. It was right there, in front of her, in plain sight.

Isadora just didn't _want_ to see it.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Isadora pulled Griffo to a halt just out-side of Bag-end. Everything was still the same, she noted; the flowers still bloomed and the house was just as large as when she had last seen it. The lights in the window were also still on, she grinned.

A thud echoed around Isadora as she eagerly dismounted her stead and ran swiftly to the door. Just as she was about to charge through the thresh-hold to greet her cherished friend, Gandalf placed his staff gently on her shoulder, silently telling her to restrain from her hyper-activity. The Wizard sent her a look that told her to stand behind him and wait. She did so obediently a worried expression marring her, previously grinning, face. He raised his staff and rapped on the door with four quick and urgent knocks. A moment later a small, pale hobbit opened the door. He seemed shocked to see them, namely at Gandalf's harried appearance.

"Is it secret? Is it safe?" Gandalf hissed quickly. Isadora, who was still stood behind Gandalf, leaned over to the side slightly, to be seen by the smaller hobbit; she smiled sadly and waved awkwardly.

"Hey Frodo" was all she could make her-self say, now knowing fully what they were dealing with here.

Gandalf pushed them all in to the house, hence urging Frodo to go over to one of the wooden trunks that sat by the fire-place in his living room.

"Aha!" he muttered as he lifted out an envelope, wax-sealed and unopened. The Wizard snatched it from his grasp immediately and threw it in to the crackling fire.

'Oh! So he does listen to my ramblings!' thought Isadora, in a some-what irritated manor, as she watched the flames lick and burn away at the paper, leaving only a shining golden ring in its place. The One Ring.

It looked beautiful, so beautiful and simple, yet it was so evil and devastating. This small object was used to bring down whole civilizations, according to the tales, and here it was; just sitting in a young hobbits home, being burned by fire. The Ring of Power, in the hands of a hobbit, one of Middle-Earths simplest and unknown creatures.

Gandalf picked up the Ring with the fireplace-tongs and moved to drop it in Frodo's hands, but Frodo, expecting the metal to be hot, tore his hands away, letting the ring fall to the ground.

Isadora lurched forward to catch it before it clattered to the ground. After all the research she had done, she had expected it to be cool; a piece of information Gandalf had forgotten to mention to the hobbit. As her hands encased the Ring, a sizzling pain shot through her hands, up her arms and through her entire body, making her cry out in an agony that could not have been delivered by just scorching metal.

The Ring fell to the ground, not even emitting clatter, as if it were weighed down by something.

Scampering away from the ring, Isadora sat in front of one of the smaller arm chairs and tried to block out the pain, as she waved her hand dismissively at the others, signalling for Gandalf to explain the situation to Frodo who stood, shocked, by the fire-place.

"Pick up the Ring, Frodo. It's quite cool"

Isadora paid very little, if at all any, attention to the rest of the conversation between the hobbit and the Wizard, only moving when they left for the kitchen.

The entire time she had been staring at her hands, a mixture of emotions crossing her face; shock, horror, disgust, all negative. As she looked at her pale and shaking hands, that now bore red, blistering circles in the centre of each palm, where the Ring had singed her skin, when she had caught it. Despite her desperate attempts, Isadora could not stop shaking; one thought constantly mulling over in her head. It burned her, it hurt her, and it gave her scars. The worst one, though, and probably the most prominent was that;

The Ring had _branded _her.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Isadora stood from the kitchen table as she heard Gandalf yank Samwise Gamgee out from under the living-room window.

_Branded._

* * *

**A/N: I had an absolute tidal wave of ideas for this chapter, so I just had to write them down and then I just had to post it! So yeah, chapter six here!**

**Please review, I would love to know your thoughts on this chapter! **

**V-K! XD**

**p.s. please bear with any mistakes I have made in this chapter! THANK YOU!**


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